Tidal energy bill surges through Legislature

OLYMPIA — Washington will soon be taking the first steps toward establishing a clean and renewable power source based on hydrokinetic energy thanks to the work of two state legislators.

“The Pacific Ocean flows through Deception Pass and slams into Whidbey Island, that’s power. The daily changing of the tides pulls millions of gallons of water through Admiralty Inlet, that’s power. Now we just have to find the proper method to harness this energy,” Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, sponsor of Senate Bill 6111.

SB 6111 adds tidal and wave energy projects to the list of sales and use tax exemptions for machinery and equipment used in solar, wind and fuel cell energy projects. The legislation also establishes a stakeholder review of tidal and wave energy similar to that proposed in House Bill 2538 sponsored by Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, a former Navy captain who once commanded the battleship USS Iowa.

“I’ve seen firsthand the tremendous amount of kinetic energy that tidal forces exert,” said Seaquist. “If we can harvest just a small portion of the energy that ebbs and flows through the Puget Sound every day, we’ll be making a huge leap towards energy independence.”

The Snohomish County PUD currently has claims on seven of the most powerful underwater tidal fields in Puget Sound. The utility hopes to harness the power by planting staggered, slow-turning turbines on the ocean floor.

“The voters spoke by adopting I-937, the clean energy initiative, last November,” said Hobbs. “Now it’s the legislature’s responsibility to actively seek out clean and renewable power for the 21st Century and beyond.”

Hobbs and Seaquist are both eager to point out the potential that clean and renewable energy sources have for weaning consumers off an addiction to foreign oil while addressing growing climate change concerns voiced by scientists worldwide.

“Energy costs are rising and we must act now to foster new clean and economically sustainable energy,” Seaquist said. “I dream of the day when energy generated beneath the Narrows Bridge results in its users being paid to cross it.”

SB 6111 originally passed the Senate on a vote of 45-3 before being unanimously approved by the House. The final version was voted out of the Senate on a unanimous vote on Saturday and will now go to the Governor for her signature.

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